Sunday, August 03, 2008

An ocean in Las Vegas

I spent a day at the Vegas shore, and I have to admit I liked it. From the wave pool at Mandalay Bay to RM Seafood to Shark Reef Aquarium, this ocean guy was surprised at how much fun it was to do the Las Vegas Ocean.

Now before I get reamed by my detractors again, listen up. The Las Vegas Ocean is no substitute for the real thing. It's busy, with thumping music and lots of people looking at each other, so it's not for quiet contemplation of the sea. You probably won't like it if you don't like a busy beach with an oceanfront bar.

What is Vegas Beach? It’s a way for people to have an ocean experience with all of the challenges removed, and some beautiful people running around in next to nothing. And they serve drinks everywhere. Wanna play in the surf but too scared? The wave pool is a way to get started. Wanna meet someone on a hot beach? You can probably do that. Wanna see fish but don’t dare go underwater? The Shark Reef Aquarium can make you feel like you’re underwater without getting wet. And the sunken temple in the jungle theme turns it into a bit of an adventure if you let yourself go there. Combine this with a sublime dinner at RM Seafood, and you have an ocean day in the Nevada desert.

We ocean lovers can’t afford to be picky, anything that gets people to think about the ocean for an hour or a day is good. With all of today's ocean problems, we need to find a way to bring oceans higher up on the list of things people care about and every little bit helps. Who knows…maybe a day at Vegas beach will get someone to plan a real ocean vacation, and we can start winning over a new ocean lover. I suppose it didn’t hurt that I got upgraded on my flight to Vegas, got bumped up to a deluxe suite at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, and enjoyed a private benefit dinner at RM Seafood with super chef Rick Moonen as company for desert. And he even signed my copy of his fabulous new cookbook, Fish Without a Doubt (more on this incredible cookbook later).

2 comments:

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About Me

I grew up with fishing and the ocean, became a scientist, and now I'm a conservationist. I work for Washington Environmental Council, but the opinions here are my own. Email me at blogfishx (at) gmail (dot) com or about Swim Around Bainbridge at swimbi (at) gmail (dot) com.